There is increasing demand for broadband services such as video on demand, fast internet access and video telephony to the home, and in particular the possibility of getting wide bandwidth public packet switched networks into domestic residential dwellings. A number of methods of doing this are available including asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) over existing copper telephone cables, broadband wireless access (BWA), coaxial links by cable TV operators for example and optical fibre to the home. However, as well as the broadband cable connection to the house, all of these methods require extensive cabling inside the dwelling in order to get the data to a computer or other data devices which require it. This problem is exacerbated in multiple dwelling units (MDUs) such as blocks of flats where over 50% of the world's population lives.
Wireless local area networks (WLAN) are a known method for providing wireless connection between various nodes such as personal computers within an office environment. One personal computer of the proposed WLAN is allocated as a base station for the network and is connected by cabling to an interface with one or more external networks such as a wide area network within the office building or company Intranet for example. The base station PC is configured to communicate with other PC's in the WLAN using a common radio frequency carrier. The carrier is used to transmit data between the base station PC and one of the other PC's in the WLAN one at a time, such that the allocated PC is able to use the full bandwidth of the carrier to communicate with the base station PC. This is a convenient arrangement as data communications between PC's tend to be intermittent or bursty by nature. Each of the PC's request a communications channel with the base station PC as required, and the base station PC allocates this resource to the various other PC's normally on a first come first served basis, although various protocols can be used. The wireless communication resource can also be shared between a number of computers using time division multiplexing for example. Various WLAN protocols exist, including for example IEEE802.11; IEEE8.02.11a; IEEE802.11b; HOMERF; and HIPERLAN. Details of these can be found at:
http://grouper.ieee.org/groups/802/11/for 802.11http://www.bluetooth.com/for Bluetoothhttp://www.homerf.org/for HomeRFhttp://www.etsi.org/for HiperLANwhich are hereby incorporated by reference. As the radio frequency spectrum is a scarce resource, and has been restricted for WLAN use, a wireless communications channel bandwidth of typically 11 MHz is available for use by all the PC's in a WLAN. This is increasingly restrictive with the increasing use of broadband services such as fast Internet access and video telephony. While WLAN's can be used to provide broadband services within MDU's such as blocks of flats or commercial office blocks for example, the WLAN's are typically restricted to a single residence or perhaps a floor of an office block and each requires separate cabling into the building to the base station PC. There are also interference difficulties arising between adjacent WLAN's. This solution therefore does not overcome the difficulties mentioned above. What is required is an improved broadband wireless communications system, particularly for MDU's.